Operation: BABYSITTER
by A Scribbler
Summary: Numbuh 4 gets a new teen babysitter, but what happens when she finds out about the KND, what connections does she have with Numbuh 1, can she be trusted, or does she have an alterior motive? Contains OC!
1. Chapter 1: The Cruddy Babysitter

**Bratty And Bothersome Yelling Sometimes Improves The Tough Enemy Relations**

"Now, Nikki, are you sure you're going to be okay." The Australian accented woman asked the teenager for the millionth time.

"Yes, Mrs. Beetles, we're going to be fine. I'll see you tomorrow tonight." Nikki answered, batting her large green eyes.

"See Darling, they'll be fine, now we're going to be late. Bye guys!" the husband called, closing the door.

Nikki shook her head; it was the same with every babysitting job. The worried parents, the child who didn't want you there, etc. She didn't even want this job in all honesty, but she was going to be in the country for most of the summer while visiting her family so she needed the money. She turned on her heel and noticed that she was being observed. The boy was short for his age, about 10 maybe, his orange hoodie way too big aver his arms and blonde hair falling in a halo over his eyes. His arms were folded stubbornly and she could see that he was glaring at her though his bangs.

"I don't need no cruddy babysitter!" he declared, "And don't give me none of that 'I'm your friend' spew."

She shrugged, "I know I'm not your friend, I've just met you."

He cocked his head to the side, taken back by her honesty, "Just watch ya step, babysitter."

"It's Nikki." She corrected, "_Wallabee_."

He narrowed his eyes, "Wally."

She smiled in satisfaction and followed him through to the living room where he turned on the TV and threw himself onto the sofa. Nikki joined him on the sofa but made a point to sit on the seat furthest away from him, not wanting to irritate him any more. One thing she knew about children was that trust was something you had to earn.

"So, how come you didn't want to stay with your Grandmother's with your little brother?" she asked.

He huffed, "Being stuck with Joey and Grandma is worse than having a babysitter for the night."

Well, she thought, that's some progress, "I never liked staying with my grandparents either, does yours have that weird cabbage and dust smell?"

"Yeah! And all those plates in a glass box, why buy 'em if you're not gonna use 'em?" he paused and then collected himself, returning to his sulk, "Grandparents, eh?"

She nodded, "Yep."

They watched TV in silence for a while, when suddenly, a muffled beeping sounded from inside his hoodie. Nikki stared at him questioningly. Wally pretended to cough and hit his chest for effect, thumping at the stop where the sound was coming from. All was quiet.

"Uh… I'm going to bed." He announced.

"It's only 6.30."

"What are ya, father time?" he snapped, stomping up the stairs.

Nikki sighed, so much for progress. She changed the channel so some movie that was on, but she wouldn't really get into it. That beeping was awfully familiar. She tried to put it to the back of her mind and went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, when something in the distance beyond the kitchen window caught her eye. A few streets away, was a tree sticking out from the back of a house. A house that she knew all too well. A large device shot through the air, leaving a long trail of smoke behind it. It heading right towards the tree and landed among its branches. A smirk twitched in the corner of her mouth.

Forgetting about her tea, she tiptoed up the stairs and tapped lightly on the boys' bedroom door. There was no answer, so she knocked a little louder and pressed her ear to the door. Again, there was silence. She tried the handle and found that it opened easily enough. The room was cloaked in darkness, a small lump in the bed and the soft sound of snoring would have convinced anyone else that the boy was asleep, but she knew better. She carefully peeled back the covers to reveal a very accurate manikin of Wally, a tape recorder strapped to its chest playing the snoring on a loop.

"Clever, looks like their learning…"

"Numbuh 4, you're late!" snapped the bald, British boy in the shades and red jumper.

"Yeah I know, I've got some cruddy babysitter that I had to ditch!"

"Oh, tough call man." The larger boy with flying goggles on his head sympathised.

"What's wrong with a babysitter?" asked a tall girl with long black hair and a green jumper that was way too big for her, "They play games with you and watch TV with you and -"

"The problem, Numbuh 3 is that she's a _teenager_!" Numbuh 4 snapped at her.

"Oh yeah? Well Numbuh 5 has a teen sister who's a babysitter, think yourself lucky." A girl with a large red cap and dark hair tied into a braid pointed out.

"Enough of this!" Numbuh 1 declared, "We need to discuss something extremely important. The Delightful Children From Down The Lane are planning a birthday celebration tomorrow morning and as you all know, it's our mission ever year to steal that birthday cake. Now I know our missions have been, well, less than successful as of late, but this year we're going to change all that."

"And how's that going to happen?"

"Glad you asked Numbuh 5, it's simple, all we have to do is -"

They were interrupted by a single red siren flashing and screaming. Then, there was darkness. All of the power in the tree-house extinguished, leaving them alone in the dark. Numbuh 4 felt something soft grab his hand and was grateful for the dark to hide his blush as he remembered it was Numbuh 3 who was sitting next to him.

"Kids Next Door, battle stations!" Numbuh 1 cried into the darkness.

A cross between a giggle and a sigh echoed from down the corridor. Everyone pulled out the weapons they had been keeping on their person for emergencies and aimed in the direction of the sound. Something brushed past Numbuh 5, sending her off balance. Then… all hell broke loose.

Whatever it was, it was fast. It grabbed the hood of Numbuh 4's jumper and pulled it over his eyes, tying it into a knot with the sleeves of Numbuh 3's jumper, stopping either of them from making a move. Numbuh 5 started shooting her ketchup gun at the shadow that was snaking it's way around the room, but was restricted by a roped looping around her waist, hoisting her up into the air. Numbuh 2 jumped to grab her, but felt the rope entangle in his legs, sending him hanging by his ankles. Finally, Numbuh 1, hearing his teammates in danger, ducked behind his chair and listened carefully. He waited, chilli-launcher at the ready. There was a light sound of a footstep just to the left of him, he aimed and fired. He hit something, but it was still moving. He felt something lifting him up and tossing him into his computer chair. He was spinning, he clutched his shades to stop them from falling and was blinded by the sudden flash of light. He blinked rapidly, his eyes watering.

They all froze in a mixture of horror, surprise and anger. All except for Numbuh 1 who, despite being the most shocked, looked mainly irritated. Standing before them, was a teenage girl of about 18. Her long brown hair and tied a the side in a spiky side-ponytail and her green eyes were alight with mischief and knowing. A wry grin tweaked at her mouth.

She looked down at Numbuh 1 and waved her fingers at him, "Hello, cousin."


	2. Chapter 2: Out of the Bag

"COUSIN?" all but Numbuh 1 echoed.

"Yep, Nikki Uno at your service!" she grinned while bowing.

"Nikki, how did you get in here?" Numbuh 1 demanded.

"Simple, I just took out this little wire and everything else was just for fun. Although, I think I may have gone a bit overboard. Sorry, guys!" She giggled, crossing the room to untangle Numbuh 3 and 4.

"My cruddy babysitter is your cousin?" Numbuh 4 glared and 1.

"My cousin is your babysitter?" Numbuh 1, pushed his shades back up his nose, "Wait, Nikki, I thought you were visiting tomorrow night?"

"I was, but I came back early and got an overnight babysitting job ready to surprise Aunt and Uncle tomorrow. But I honestly never would have thought that this little tyke was in your sector of KND." She tousled Numbuh 4's hair before moving to untie 2 and 5.

"You know about the KND?" Numbuh 2 cried as she helped him back to his feet.

"Know about it? Oh, right…" Nikki sheepishly pulled out a badge that she wore as a necklace and held it up for all to see, it read 'KND: TEEN ELITE – TND: NUMBUH 777'

Numbuh 1 narrowed his eyes, "You're 777? You're the leader of Sector E, TND? _You?_"

"But, 777's a ledged! No one's ever seen him before, he's the master of mystery, one of the greatest KND member's ever!" Numbuh 2 gushed, "He's the first KND member to ever achieve Teen Elite! The creation of the TND started with him!"

Nikki cleared her throat, "Well, _he_ is actually a _she_, but I'm not that special, I just did my job, is all like you guys do."

"Wait! Teen Elite? TND?" Numbuh 4 cried, "What's the point in having the KND, _Kids_ Next Door, if they're gonna let teens in?"

"It's a very high honour, it's only ever happened three times." Numbuh 1 explained, the annoyance in his voice hard to miss, "Apparently, Nikki was the first."

"Numbuh 5 has to admit she's impressed." Numbuh 5 nodded, shaking Nikki's hand.

"So how did you know about Numbuh 1 if he didn't know about you?" Numbuh 3 asked, tugging on Nikki's sleeve.

"I have my connections, I've gotta keep an eye on little Nigel haven't I?"

Numbah 1 shuddered with distain, he hated his cousin. Ever since he could remember, he had always been compared to her. She was the golden child in the family. She wasn't that hard to look at, she always had top marks in her class, she did volunteer work, she had a job and now she was in university making everyone proud. The only thing that made him feel better than her was his leadership in the KND. Now here she was blowing that up in his face by revealing herself to be the first ever TND member! That was his dream, to make it into the TND, but how could he knowing that he was going to be compared to her again. Or worse, having her as his leader! He looked at his friends, his teammates, swarming around her like she was some goddess. It was humiliating and disgusting.

"Well it's been nice you dropping by, but if you don't mind we have a mission to plan for." He slowly pushed his shades to the bridge of his nose, narrowing his eyes.

Nikki nodded, "Sure thing. Look, I know this sounds rude but do you mind if I stay, I'm not going to get in your way or anything but…" she tousled Numbuh 4's hair again making him grit his teeth, "I'm still on a babysitting job."

"Can't you just tell my parents I was there and everything was fine like every other babysitter?" Numbuh 4 snapped, smoothing his hair down.

"I could, but I can't really expect to get paid for something I haven't done, lying isn't my thing."

"Yeah! I'd love you to take a look at some blueprints I've been working on!" Numbuh 2 beamed.

"Numbuh 5 doesn't have a problem with that." She said, flicking her cap.

"Can she stay Numbuh 1, please?" Numbuh 3 cried, clasping her hands together.

Numbuh 1 glanced at 4, who folded his arms and huffed, at least one person was on his side. But still, they were outnumbered. He sighed and nodded, turning away from them and returning to his work. This day just kept getting better and better. He looked up to see an orange figure standing next to him. Numbuh 4 was glaring out of the tree-house, arms folded and muttering to himself. The two tried to ignore the laughter and mission story swapping behind them and tried to focus on the plans for stealing the Delightful's birthday cake. It was simple enough on paper, but how would it cope in action?

Their thoughts were interrupted by the room plummeting into red flashing lights and alarms blaring. Up on the screen, a image of one of their enemies was entering their neighbourhood. Numbuh 1 turned on his heel and nodded to his teammates who were already prepared in battle stance. They made their way down to the landing bay and piled into their vehicle and took to the sky. Numbuh 1 handed the controls over to Numbuh 2 and turned to face the rest of his team. He noticed something… good.

"Where's Nikki?" he asked.

Everyone looked around in confusion.

"Alright, we ditched her!" Numbuh 4 cried, pumping his fist n the air.

"Hello!"

"AGH!"

He jumped out of his seat and was sent rolling onto the floor as Nikki's head popped up over his shoulder from behind his chair and called in his ear. She got out from her hiding place and was given a high-five by Numbuh 3 and a nod of approval from 5.

Numbuh 1 groaned, "So much for not getting in our way."

Nikki flinched at his harsh words, but brushed it off, "Sorry, all this is second nature to me. Just think of me as an observer."

"Hey what's that?" Numbuh 2 asked, turning around and pointing at a strange looking thing in her hands.

She held it out for them to inspect, it looked like a ping-pong paddle, but instead of a handle was a hockey stick with a boxing glove at the end, and the elastic string attached to the paddle was a body of a yoyo.

"It's my 'YO-STICK: 'Yoyo On Standby Tackles Infiltrators Critically Keen'"

"What the crud does 'Keen' mean?" Numbuh 4 snapped, trying to hide his interest in the weapon.

"It's a British term meaning eagerly, carefully, sharp, things like that." She explained, "Like you were very keen to prove that you don't want a babysitter."

"So you can take the hint."

Nikki winked at him and took a seat at the back, not wanting to intrude any further. She sighed to herself; things had not gone according to plan. She thought her cousin would have been happy to see her. She understood why Numbuh 4 didn't like her; it went against everything in his nature to trust a teenager. But the others had accepted her, but surly Nigel wasn't that wrapped up in his work to turn against her too?

"So who's the guy we're after?" asked Numbuh 5.

"Count Spankulot." Numbuh 2 answered.

"He's still around?" Nikki cried, a hint of amusement in her tone, "Man, I still have the bruises from him"

"Kids Next Door, Battle stations!" Numbuh 1 yelled.

Nikki watched in awe as the group jumped into action. Numbuh 2 steered the ship to the right so that everyone was tilting to the side. Numbuh 4 and 5 opened the side windows and leant out as far as they dared, shooting marbles and chilli peppers at the shadowed figure flying along side them. Numbuh 3 got into place behind a computer device and brought the Count up on radar. The screen flashed green as it locked onto its target. She gave the signal to Numbuh 1 who slammed his fist down on a large button in front of him. The ship rumbled as a large water balloon was released from underneath them. A horrible smell hung in the air; Nikki breathed it in and smirked in admiration at the team, garlic juice, impressive.

The balloon hit the target straight on, the Count was soaked to the skin as he cried out in pain and spiralled downwards to the ground. Numbuh 2 turned the ship around and came to a landing. By the time everyone had piled out, weapons raised, Nikki was already sprung into action. She swung her stick around to knock the Count to the ground, making him land on his face, and flicked the weapon with precision, the yoyo was released and collided with a satisfactory smack against the Count's rear end. The elastic string snapped the yoyo back into place and returned for another hit. She jumped backwards and let the Count roll over to face her. He caught sight of her badge.

"777? But you're supposed to be working with -"

She cut him off by shoving the boxing glove into his mouth, "Sector V, he's all yours."

Numbuh 1 watched in both awe and irritation. She' done it again, upstaged him without even trying. His teammates tied him up and called into H.Q with the co-ordinates of where to pick the Count up. As they piled into the ship to return to the tree house, Numbuh 3 tugged on Nikki's sleeve.

"Who did he think you were working for?" she asked.

Nikki shrugged, but there was an uncomfortable shift in her eyes, "I don't know, maybe he thought I was on his side or something, being a teenager and all. Idiot."

Numbuh 1 and 4 exchanged glances and were surprised to find Numbuh 5 chewing her lip in suspicion too. Something was quite right here…


	3. Chapter 3: Deceptive Misunderstandings

It was getting late by the time they all landed back in the tree house. As soon as they arrived, Numbuh 1 clicked his heels together, triggering the miniature rockets in his shoes and blasted off, travelling to the higher levels of the base. Nikki whistled in admiration, she'd always wanted a pair of those, but had never had the chance. No matter, she'd soon figure it out, with practice.

"That was so cool the way you kicked that guys butt!" Numbuh 3 giggled.

"Looks like that vampire better work on his bite!" Numbuh 2 added, his joke falling flat.

"It was you guys that did all the work!" Nikki mumbled, blushing, "Where's Nigel going?"

"Numbuh 1 always gives an update to HQ after every mission." Numbuh 5 explained.

Nikki pricked up her ears in interest, "Mind if I go up and join him?"

"Sure, you can use my key-card to get in." Numbuh 2 offered.

Nikki thanked him and chucked her bag on the sofa before making her way up the endless flights of stairs until she found the right room. It was filled with computer monitors and surveillance equipment. She could hear her cousin talking inside. She tiptoed inside and saw him looking up at a large screen with a stern looking, blond haired girl with what looked like a sieve for a helmet. On his helmet was the number 362. Nikki had heard of her, she was very high up in the KND, but she'd never spoken to her.

Numbuh 362 glared at her over Nigel's shoulder, "Numbuh 1, teenager attack!"

Numbuh 1 span around, fists raised, he groaned as he set eyes on Nikki, "No, Numbuh 362, this is mu cousin, Numbuh 777."

"You don't say?"

"Well where else do you think he got his brains from?" Nikki smirked, wrapping an arm around her cousins shoulders and pulling him close.

"That is yet to be shown, maybe you can teach him a thing or two. It's been an honour, 777. Oh, and Numbuh 1, remember what I said about planning and taking time to think things through, you're getting careless again."

"Yes Sir!" Numbuh 1 grumbled, giving a salute.

Nikki wondered if calling that girl a 'Sir' was the best option, but ignored it. Instead, she released Nigel from her grip and smiled. In return, he glared at her from behind his shades and stormed out of the room, not looking back. Nikki felt a pang of hurt in her chest, had she done something wrong? Her thoughts were evaporated by a flashing light coming from her jeans pocket. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, as she produced a round, flat device. Strange, she didn't remember having this thing on her, what was it anyway? Her curiosity got the better of her and she pressed a tiny red button in the centre of it.

Out of the button, appeared a beam of light that grew into a hologram. An uncomfortably familiar logo flashed before her, she gulped and slowly closed the door of the computer room. The logo was replaced by a written message:

_Plug this device into any computer drive… or else!_

Not really wanting to find out what the 'or else' part of the deal was, she turned and slotted the device into the monitor in front of her. It demanded a pass card. A cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and then she remembered the card that Numbuh 2 had given her. She silently thanked him again and scanned the card, sighing with satisfaction at the green access label. She waited with bated breath while the device was downloaded into the computer. Soon, the screen was filled with the image of a teenage girl with curly dark hair and a cruel smirk.

"Cree?" Nikki gasped, taking a step back.

"Hello partner, how's it going?" Cree smirked.

"I am not your partner!" she spat, "What do you want?"

Cree shrugged, "What, a girl can't have a catch up with her fellow Teen Ninja?"

"I am _not_ one of you! I never was! Now tell me what you want!"

Back in the centre of the tree house, Numbuh 1 returned to his team, muttering in anger to himself. The nerve of her, barging in while he was in the middle of an important transmission and embarrassing him like that! Rachel probably thought he was such an idiot now. Wait, what was he thinking, Numbuh 362, not Rachel, and it was his reputation he was worried about, not personal relations! He found himself reddening, but brushed it off by forcefully shoving his shades back up his nose. He angry stormed past his teammates and threw himself on the sofa, accidently knocking over the bag that Nikki had left there. Its contents spilled out onto the floor.

"What the heck?" Numbuh 4 snapped, picking up one of the devices.

They all bore the same logo, everyone crowded around, examining the advanced weaponry and technology. They recognised a few bits and pieces, some of them had been used against them in the past. They noticed that it contained mostly miniature cameras, what were all of these doing in Nikki's bag?

"Numbuh 5 knows where these came from…" Numbuh 5 growled, tweaking her cap.

"Uh, guys, you may want to take a look at this!" Numbuh 2 called from his computer monitor.

A red warning symbol flashed as they gathered around him. _Warning: Intruding Signal Being Broadcast!_ They exchanged glances as the computer began tracking the source of the broadcast. They were shocked to find that it was coming from inside the base, Numbuh 2 brought up the security camera from the broadcasting room where Numbuh 1 had just left. The camera showed Nikki, looking either angry or determined, maybe both, at the screen in front of her.

"How is she able to access that?" Numbuh 1 snapped, throwing his arms in the air.

Everyone looked at Numbuh 2 who chuckled nervously, "Uh… I gave her my card…"

"What? Why did you -"

"Wait, who's she talking to?" Numbuh 3 asked, pointing towards the digital figure that Nikki was talking to.

Numbuh 5 hunched her shoulders and narrowed her eyes, "Cree."

"Listen!" Numbuh 4 demanded, leaning in closer.

Cree had just said something, looking down on Nikki with a mixture of pride and amusement, Nikki narrowed her eyes, raising her voice.

"Now tell me what you want!"

Cree smirked, "Just to say good job on infiltrating the Sector V's base and I look forward to viewing their plans through those cameras you're planting. Oh, and thanks for installing this program, we should be finishing their system download anytime now. See you soon, _partner_!"

She seemed to be talking with urgency, not giving Nikki a chance to speak. Cree pressed a button and the children's screen went black. They all looked at one another in horror. They were all thinking the same thing, Nikki was a traitor! She was actually Teen Ninja spy! Numbuh 4 jumped up and grabbed his sling-shot, loaded the marble ready.

"Let's get this cruddy scum!"

Meanwhile, Nikki watched as Cree pressed a button on her end, but nothing seemed to happen, yet Cree continued to look pleased with herself. What was that all about?

"I never did anything of the sort? What are you talking about? I'm not your partner and I would never do anything to hurt this team, you know that!"

Cree, covered her mouth in mock shock, "Whoops, looks like I've made a mistake, ah well, see you around!"

The screen faded to black. Nikki's head was buzzing with confusion, what the heck was going on? She wasn't sure if that message should have been threatening or praise, but it didn't matter, clearly Cree was on some sort of new experiment that made her act more crazed than usual. But then again, she did work for the evil Father, and that was never good. Nikki shook her head and turned around to see the doors of the room snap open, revealing the team, loaded with weapons aiming at her. She backed away instinctively.

"Uh, hey guys, what's up?"

"Why don't you tell us, cousin?" Numbuh 1 emphasised the last word like it was painful.

Numbuh 3 glared at her with a child-like pout and tossed Nikki's back forward on the floor, letting the spy gear and equipment pour out onto the floor. Nikki took a step back, what the heck was all of that doing in her bag? It wasn't hers, she'd never seen it before! She looked pleadingly up at the team.

"That's not mine!" she declared.

"Yeah, and Cree isn't your partner." Said Numbuh 5 sarcastically.

"No, she isn't! Wait…" Nikki looked behind her at the blank screen, she understood now, "No, that transmission was a set up! I'm not working with her I swear, I'd never betray you guys!"

"I likely story!" Numbuh 4 snapped, launching his weapon and releasing a net that wrapped around Nikki's body tightly, causing her to fall to the floor.

"Please! You have to believe me!"

"Why, because 'lying isn't your thing'? How dumb do you think we are?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"I swear, it's a set up! I'm on your side!"

She couldn't move, her heart pounded, why weren't they believing her? She was telling the truth! She continued to beg and plead as they dragged her out into the open air. Numbuh 2 was contacting the KND security, informing them of her treachery and ordering a prison unit to pick her up. Tears trickled down her cheeks, she knew what that meant. She was going to be decommissioned, kicked out, memory erased… It couldn't end like this! After everything she'd worked for, it was all over. She looked pleadingly at her cousin. He looked down on her with distain, turning his back on her. That was when she stopped fighting… when she finally realised that her own flesh and blood no longer trusted her. It killed her inside. If he didn't believe her, then what was the point in fighting any more?

They waited until the security craft zoomed into view. The team loaded Nikki into the back and locked the doors, congratulating the team before taking off out of sight. Once inside the tree-house again, Numbuh 1 refused to talk, instead he went straight to his room. He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, feeling a mixture of satisfaction and hurt in the pit of his stomach. Part of him believed that Nikki was telling the truth, she's seemed to upset, but then again, her mission had been foiled, of course she was upset! No, he ordered himself, she was a traitor and now she's going to be out of your life. No more in her shadow, you're the best now. Not her.

"Numbuh 1!"

He jumped up at the shrill cry and leapt into action. His communication device on his wrist flashed, revealing the image of Numbuh 362. She looked grim and focussed.

"We've got a problem. Numbuh 777's escaped."

"What? How?" he demanded, gathering the attention of his teammates from outside.

"Her crew of Teen Ninjas attacked, we weren't ready and they took her with them. But we've tracked their current location. We need you to retrieve her along with any other enemies you can get. But she is a priority."

"Where is she?" he snarled, narrowing his eyes.

The screen morphed into a map, revealing the coordinates of his cousin, his jaw clenched in anger. He nodded and ended the transmission. The rest of the team looked at him eagerly.

"Kids Next Door, battle stations!" he cried, "We're going to pay a visit, down the lane…"


	4. Chapter 4: Double Tricks

The team zoomed through the sky, their radar closing in on the large mansion below. Numbuh 1 turned to his team with determination. They all froze in their positions awaiting their orders, weapons at the ready.

"Okay team, we parachute down to the roof and split into two groups. Numbuhs' 2 and 5, you will enter though a window at the back of the house and dismantle the security system to track where Nikki is, if she's still got that badge around her neck, she should be easy to locate. Numbuhs' 3 and 4, you're with me, we'll wait for 2 and 5's signal and make our way in through the front and start the mission objective. We'll re-group and take Nikki into custody, leave the other enemies for now, she's a priority."

The all nodded, but he sighed, giving them the impression that he hadn't finished yet. They waited. The boy re-adjusted his shades and pulled at the collar of his jumper. Noticing the still focussed attention he was getting, he cleared his throat and turned away. He continued.

"Just keep in mind team, this is _not_ a search and rescue. This is a search and arrest. Treat it as such."

Numbuh 3 flinched at the harshness of his words. She understood that Nikki was a 'bad-guy' now, but she had been so nice, and she was part of _his_ family. Now that, she couldn't understand, being so cold towards family. It was different with Numbuh 5 and Cree, which had been built up over years, but this… this was so sudden.

"C'mon!" Numbuh 4 cried, tossing a parachute in her direction, "Let's show this cruddy teen whose boss!"

Numbuh 2 switched the hovering vehicle into auto-pilot, keeping it suspended in place and hoisted his parachute over his shoulders, "I hope they don't mind us 'dropping in' like this!"

Numbuh 5 face-palmed and dragged the heavy door open, letting the wind send her plat slithering snake-like behind her. She grabbed Numbuh 2 by the wrist and jumped, pulling him out into the open sky. The others watched as the plummeted towards the ground before releasing the large shower curtains that had been fashioned into parachutes. The two manoeuvred through the air and landed gracefully on the roof of the large, gaunt mansion below. Or rather, Abbey landed gracefully, Hoagie however skidded a good few feet and tumbled into a forward-roll, the sheet covering him like a shroud. Numbuh 5 rolled her eyes and hoisted him to his feet and detached their parachutes. She removed the grappling hook made from a hosepipe tube and the prongs of a garden rake from her waist and attached it to the drainpipe, using the rope to smoothly glide downwards and through window that had carelessly been left open. Numbuh 2 gulped and clenched his eyes shut, following her moves exactly.

Back in the ship, the rest of the team waited. Within minutes, their communicators started flashing, the signal. Their leader nodded determinedly and leapt from the ship, the small boy and the tall girl in close pursuit. Numbuh 3 spread her arms out in glee, giggling at the sensation of flying. They each pulled the strings and released the parachutes. While Kuki giggled louder, Numbuh 4 gritted his teeth and squirmed at the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They landed on the roof and without hesitation, they threw their sheets to the side and sprinted to the front of the house, attaching a grappling hook of their own and lowering down into the house. Once again, a window that had been left unlocked. Numbuh 1 chewed at the inside of his cheek, were his enemies really that careless? Nevertheless, the entered and stalked their way down the corridor and ducked into a large room that was flooded with darkness. From what they could tell, it was a ballroom of some sorts. By the looks of things, it was empty.

"Numbuh 2 and 5, where are your positions?" Numbuh 1 whispered into his communicator.

There was a pause before the connection was made to the smooth voice of Abby, "Security room, we're tracking Nikki's whereabouts now. But, Numbuh 1, Numbuh 5 don't like this one bit. It's like it's too easy."

"I agree, but we need to continue."

Behind him, Numbuh 4 searched the jet darkness hopelessly. He didn't like this, not one bit. He heard a shudder next to him, weapon at the ready, when he relaxed seeing the faint outline of Numbuh 3. She was shivering, what was up with her? Oh yeah, he remembered from countless nights of scaring her or hearing her little whimpers in the night… she was afraid of the dark. He shifted uncomfortably and pressed his fist against her shoulder in an awkward attempt at comforting her. She jumped at his touch but then reacted to it swiftly. She quickly leapt behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, covering her eyes in his hair. He froze, was she really that scared? The young boyish part of him wanted to shove her away and rid himself of the cooties that were no doubt spreading right now, but he held firm. She wasn't really doing anything… bad.

"Easy on the girly crud, okay?" he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, Numbuh 3 was very quiet and very still, her grip on him becoming more fearful that simple seeking comfort. He turned his head to look at what her problem was when a tick and clamped down over his mouth, pulling him into the darkness.

"We've got a location on her badge… wait…" Numbuh 2 muttered from the communicator, "Team, is everything okay with you?"

"Yes, why?" Nigel demanded, "Where is she?"

Another pause and Numbuh 5 took over, "According to this scan… Nikki's just behind you."

His eyes widened and he turned on his heel. Where were Kuki and Wally? Everything was deadly silent. He raised his weapon of a chilli-launcher and aimed it at random, trying to focus on a target. Suddenly, the lights burned down upon him, blinding him. He cowered behind his shades and blinked rapidly, trying to regain his sight.

"Hello Nigel, so glad you could join us." A group chanted together.

Numbuh 1 froze, he knew those voices. His eyes still watering, he forced himself to look at them. A group of five children stood before him, smiling sweetly and eyes narrowed down on him. He instinctively took a step back. Out of no-where, a hand swooped down and snatched the weapon from his grasp. He jumped and turned to see two large teenagers standing guard by the door behind him, one crushed the launcher in his fist. On the other side of the room, more teenagers were lined up, two of them had captives in their arms. Numbuh 4 struggled in the grip of a bulky teen while Numbuh 3 was squirming in another's.

"Looking for this?" the Delightful children cooed.

One of the children held out a pendant while the others moved their arms in unison to point at it. The pendant was long and heavy looking, a badge hung from it. The number 777 printed on it clearly and mockingly.

"You were expecting us?" Numbuh 1 sneered.

"Of course, we did. Naturally the _brave_ Nigel Uno and his team would come and save his cousin."

"We are not hear to save her! We're here to put her back in KND custody!"

They all pretended to look shocked and said with false disbelief, "Oh my, why would that be? Did she really betray you all that much? The famous Numbuh 777, the first ever TND? How could this _ever_ be true?"

The doors opened behind him, he turned and felt his jaw tighten in anger at the sight before him. A tall, slim teen entered the room, holding both arms outwards to avoid the attacks of two struggling children gripped in her fists by the scruff of their shirts.

"Cree." He growled.

"I've gotta say, you all made it in perfect timing." She laughed, throwing her sister and Numbuh 2 into the arms of other teen operatives, "Nikki was getting worried about you."

He clenched his fists, his enemies closing in around him, "So what happens now? You rescue your _partner_ to tick us into coming here, what now?" he tried to sound passive, but the tension in his voice was evident.

The Delightfuls' laughed, "Poor Nigel, you still haven't figured it out yet?"

Cree rolled her eyes, "Nikki was no Teen Ninja, she was never my partner. But I'm flattered by your belief in my acting skills."

Numbuh 1 glared at each of them carefully, "Are you going to explain yourself or just talk in riddles?"

The Delightfuls' folded their arms, "As soon as Father discovered that the famous Numbuh 777 was coming, he did his research, how happy he was when he found out that you two were related. So he got in contact with the Teen Ninjas." They all paused to smile at Cree and the crowd, "We set her up, Nigel, she was never a spy."

His mind raced back to the transmission he had witnessed. He wanted to kick himself. If Nikki had been a spy, she would never have been careless enough to contact people from KND technology, and she would have blocked the signal if she did! The way Cree had rushed her words, not giving Nikki a chance to speak. The look of confusion and distain in her eyes. Her last words to him echoed inside his skull, she had been crying, begging him to believe her, and he had turned his back on her. She was innocent.

"Awe, don't feel to bad kid," Cree mocked, "I mean, why trust a teen, right?"

"So you set her up and planted those cameras on her, faked a rescue mission to trap us here, now what?" he cried.

The children pressed their fingers to their lips, "That's a surprise that Father has in store. Call it our… Birthday present."

While they had been mocking him, Numbuh 1was waiting for his moment. Now was that moment. He clicked his heels together activating his rocket shoes. The force sent him flying through the air towards the group of teens, he collided with them head on, knocking the wind out of them and releasing their grip on his teammates. He landed and lunged towards the Delightfuls', they ducked out of the way and prepared themselves for another attack. Cree leapt into action, only to be tripped by her sister and pushed to the ground by Numbuh 2.

"Kids Next Door, retreat!"

For a moment, all teammates stared at their leader in shock. He never ordered a retreat! Why now? Nonetheless, their nodded and managed to each give a final attack on their opponents, sending them in a daze before crashing out through the window. They grabbed hold of the window ledge and lower themselves down to the ground without too much trouble. However the teens were quick on their tail.

"Numbuh 1, why are we retreating?" Hoagie gasped as he ran, "Nikki's still in there, she's innocent!"

"We're going back to base to report this, we can't handle this on our own!"

"What?" Numbuh 4 yelled, "What kind of cruddy excuse is that? We can take 'em down!"

"We can't leave Nikki!" added Kuki, seeing the enemy closing in on them

Numbuh 5 looked directly at her leader, "What happened to the Numbuh 1 who didn't need back up, who did what he thought was right without a say so from nobody? Where's that guy?"

He made them stop, directly under their ship that was still hovering above the mansion. For a moment, he smiled and then pressed a small button on his communicator.

"I'm right here."

Just at that moment, four metallic claws plummeted down from the ship and gripped his teammates around the middle. They stared at him in horror before being swiftly hoisted into the air and inside the ship. The door locked and they were left trapped inside. The auto-pilot was locked, turning the ship around and heading back to the base. There was nothing they could do. Nothing but watch in fear and admiration as their leader was dragged back into the mansion.


	5. Chapter 5: Brutal Honesty

Numbuh 1 hoped that he knew what he was doing. He definitely knew that it was the right thing so send his team to safety, that way they could go for reinforcements and alert HQ. But now, as he was being half led half dragged down a long series of corridors, he sort of wished that he was with them. No, he knew what he was doing, this way he could find out where Nikki was and maybe even find a way to get her out too. With any luck anyway…

They stopped at a large metal opening in the wall, it was circular and looked like a futuristic dumbwaiter. His restrainers tossed him inside and he suddenly felt the ground plummet under his feet. He cried out in surprise as he fell. Almost instantly, his knees buckled under him as his feet collided hard with the ground. The tube above him sealed shut, leaving him stranded in some sort of containment unit. There was no visible way out, just the now closed off way he came in. He grumbled to himself as he got to his feet, brushing himself off. The room was lit by a single florescent blub that scanned across the ceiling. There was nothing else that he could see. Just… the room.

All of a sudden, a heavy weight collided into his back, knocking him off his feet face first to the floor. His arms were pulled behind him so that he couldn't attack and his legs pinned together. He strained his neck to look at his attacker, his eyes blinded by the harsh light. The figure relaxed its grip slightly.

"Nigel?"

"Nikki?"

She pushed herself off of him hastily and pulled him to his feet, "I'm so sorry I thought that you were one of _them_!"

He adjusted his shades and rolled his eyes, "Evidently not."

"Nigel, please you have to believe me, I was set up I -"

He casually lifted a hand to silence her, "I know. We received info saying that you escaped so we were placed on your search and arrest. Too bad for us we ran into some trouble and that's when the truth came out."

He stormed past her and started inspecting the walls of the room, tapping his knuckles for hollow spots or a hidden exit. She shook her head.

"Already tried it, there's no way out. Where's the rest of the team now?" she asked looking up at the tube as if they were going to arrive at any moment.

"I managed to get them out, I came back to get you."

She let out a quick sigh of relief, but then her expression changed to anger, "You should have gone with them! You played right into their trap, now look where it's gotten you! Jeez sometimes you're just so -"

"So what? So not like you? What's the matter 'Number 777', angry that you have to be saved by a bunch of lower level KND or that your cousin isn't the leader that you want him to be?" he snapped, glaring at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that every time you do something it's like it's the greatest thing since the book of KND! _You_ were the first born, _you _were the winner of every competition you entered,_ you _were the first in the family to get into university,_ you _were always the talk of the family! The KND was something that I had! I was a leader, I was looked up to! Now here you are again! The first ever TND operative! The _legendary_ Numbuh 777! Something else you took away from me!"

As he ranted, pacing back and fore throwing his arms in the air, Nikki felt a stab of guilt and horror with every word. He paused to glare at her before removing his shades.

"So good job, I've failed again and you're the best. I will never live up to the _awesome_ legacy of Nikki Uno!"

With his final cry, he threw the glasses down to the ground, the frame clattering against the hard floor. One of the tinted lenses was forced from its frame and rolled along the floor into the shadows. He panted for breath, his cheeks reddening from anger. Nikki was speechless, she had no idea that he had felt that way. He turned away from her and sat crossed legged in the corner of the room, his back against the wall.

Nikki carefully picked up the broken shades and silently hunted for the lost lens. She managed to locate it on the other side of the containment unit, she passed it between her hands, rubbing the dust from it. Never ever had she tried to make her cousin feel so inferior. Looking back, she understood how it might have come across that way, and randomly showing up today would not have helped his opinion of her. She crossed the room and slid down the wall next to her cousin.

She sighed, "I'm sorry. I really am. You know, you say that I won every competition… what did you mean by that?"

He huffed, so she was gloating now? "You did track, you played piano, you even won at gymnastic competitions!"

A chuckle escaped her, "I hate running, the only reason I ran so fast was because I couldn't wait to get it over and done with, nothing else. As for piano, my Mum made me take that up because she wanted to compete with the neighbours kid who played drums until two in the morning! Now as for the gymnastics, that was only so that I could get better at my job in the KND."

He eyed her cautiously. She nodded and continued when he didn't answer her.

"But, Nigel, why did you think I kept working so hard to get a TND membership? Not to out-do you later or to make myself a role-model for anyone, I did it so that I could have fun. Isn't that why you joined in the first place? For the fun of the ride?"

He shrugged, "So why keep it a secret? Why not tell me?"

"So that when the time came, you could have a fair chance at joining me when you were old enough."

He jarred at her words and looked directly at her. She winked at him and nudged her shoulder against his playfully.

"Anyway, what do you mean that you failed? You're still a leader, and a heck of a good one at that! Maybe you should stop thinking like an adult comparing everything to someone else and just have fun being a kid."

She placed the broken shades over his eyes and laughed as his eyes crossed, focussing on the lost lens. He allowed himself a smile and held out his fist, curving his index finger like a hook, creating the illusion of a pirate. They laughed and he allowed her to hold his head still while she pressed the lens back into place.

"There you go, that's the Numbuh 1 I know."

"Thank you, Nikki," he sighed, "I didn't -"

She stopped him, "You did, but that's okay, if you didn't, then things would be a lot worse in the long run. Next time just tell me when I'm annoying you, okay? Besides, if anyone should be jealous of anyone, I should be jealous of you."

"What?" he arched his brow, "How do out work that one out?"

She smirked, "I hear a lot about you in HQ, good things. You're going places, and you'd get there a lot faster if you stop being so tough on yourself. Trust me, Leader."

To prove her point she gave him a sharp salute. Numbuh 1 felt a pang of guilt, why was she being so nice to him and trying to make him laugh? He had basically just accused her of ruining his life and yet she wasn't even asking for an apology. She just took it and was trying to make him feel better. No, she wasn't just saying it to cheer him up, she actually meant it, she wasn't a liar. It had taken a while, but that had finally been proven to him.

"What do you say we get out of here?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"Sounds like a plan." She grinned.

The two looked at one another before looking up at the sealed entrance and nodded. Nikki crouched onto her knees so that the boy could climb onto her shoulders. As she stood, he could reach the ceiling comfortably. He reached into the pockets and pulled out a Swiss-army knife, pulling out one the screwdriver limb, he began to prise it between the metal sheets. Nikki looked up and saw what he was doing.

"Does Aunt and Uncle know you have that?" she asked, doubting that anyone would give an army knife to a ten-year-old.

He rolled his eyes, "Oh please, Nikki, don't be such an _adult_."

She deliberately swayed, making him temporarily loose his balance, "I'm no adult!"

He resumed his work, his tongue poking between his lips in concentration. There was a groan of machinery and Numbuh 1 was able to prise the sheets apart a couple of inches. Keeping the army knife in place, he shoved his hands inside and tried pulling the metal further apart. Nothing. He eyed the mechanism just inside the tube and had an idea.

"All I need is something sharp and thin…" he mumbled.

Nikki removed one of the hands that were gripping his ankles and pulled something from her side ponytail, "Tell the girls in your team, never leave the house without a good few of these in their hair."

She handed Nigel a wire hair-pin. Wow, he thought, now this is real old-school KND stuff… Nevertheless, he pulled it so it was a straight and poked it inside the tube. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and rubbed the beads of sweat from his forehead on his shoulder. Nearly there, just a little bit further…. The pin caught on something soft, a single green wire. He smirked as he swiftly flicked the pin upwards, pulling the wire from its socket. The tube doors opened up with a clean sweep, sending the army-knife clattering to the floor. Nigel grinned in triumph and looked down at his cousin.

"Okay, lift me in and I'll pull you up."

"It's rude to leave a party without first seeing your host."

Nikki jumped, spinning around in shock, sending Nigel swaying for balance. The new voice had come from just behind them, smooth and calm, almost amused at their efforts. More lights in the room flashed before them, making their eyes water. They found that there were not in just a simple room, but a glass box. The larger room that they were trapped in had been so dark before that they had taken the glass to be shadowed walls. Nigel jumped from his cousins shoulders to the floor in front of her and raised his fists in preparation.

The figure, just on the other side of the glass, was just that, a figure. His entire body was draped in a dark shadow outlined by a red glow, his eyes aglow with yellow. A smoking pipe produced between his lips. Behind him, the group of grinning Delightfuls' waved their fingers in oddly accurate unison. Nikki felt chills, she had seen this man briefly when she had first been brought here. But she still knew nothing about him, it unnerved her. Nigel however, seemed to recognise him instantly.

"Hello, Numbuh 1…" the man sneered.

"Hello, Father."


	6. Chapter 6: Plans Decommissioned

Nikki felt her eyes bulge. What was that supposed to mean?

"Father? That's not Uncle Monty, or am I missing something?" she muttered into her cousins ear.

"No, he's the Father of the Delightful's, he just gets everyone to call him Father."

Nikki eyed their shadowed captor and scoffed, "That's just stupid…"

Father shuddered in anger, "Why, the stubborn nature seems to run in the family, doesn't it? I should know… But enough of this, let's get down to business!" he turned to the group of children behind him, "Children, would you like to start the preparations for your birthday surprise?"

The group smiled gleefully and clasped their hands together in time with one another. They all nodded eagerly and each put a hand on a lever on the wall behind them.

"Yes, Father, we would very much like to…"

They snapped the lever down, making the tube that Numbuh 1 and 777 had bee trying to escape in, open completely. There was a low hiss from inside the darkness. The two braced themselves inside the glass cage, but nothing came. They waited, hearts pumping harshly against their chests. Slowly, they noticed a strange green smog snaking its way inside, curling around them. Nikki pulled the neck of her top over her mouth and uncurled Nigel's turtle-neck so that it covered his.

"So you're going to poison us?" she cried, hitting her fist against the glass wall.

"Oh no, deer Numbuh 777, this is just for insurance, the real plan will be revealed tomorrow, at the party." Father sneered, chewing his pipe mockingly.

"You won't get away with this!" Numbuh 1 declared, pointing an accusing finger at the outsiders.

"Oh please, Father, can't you give us a clue as to what our birthday surprise is?" the Delightful's asked, widening their eyes hopefully.

"Good things come to those who wait, children, and we've been waiting for this for a long time…" he cackled.

The prisoners started to sway, their vision darkening. Numbuh 777 was the first to go down; she was taller and thus closer to the gas tube. Her body crumpled to the ground in a heap next to her cousin. He clamped a hand over his already covered mouth to try and hold on a little longer, his other hand violently shaking Nikki, trying to wake her up. His hands suddenly felt numb and the hung loosely from his jumper sleeves. He couldn't hold his breath any longer. He took a gasp of air, falling onto his front. As he drifted into darkness, a clear bellowing laughter echoed around them…

"AGH!" Nikki and Nigel cried out, shivering and spluttering as something icy cold and wet pored over them.

They looked up to see the group of Delightful's smiling eagerly down on them, each with an empty glass in their hands, "Good morning, aren't you going to wish us a happy birthday?"

Numbuh 1 looked down to see that he was strapped to a chair, his ankles strapped to the legs and his hands trapped behind, he could feel a heavy pad-lock nudging against his wrists. Next to him, Nikki was also tied into position. Her hair hung limply in its side bobble, dripping wet. The room they were in looked like the great hall that he had been taken to before, only now it was overthrown with birthday decorations. She looked around in confusion; she wore a pendant around her neck that held a small little clock face. She eyed it and shook her head. That couldn't be right, it said that it was ten o'clock, but the last she'd checked, it was around eleven…

"It's very rude to oversleep in the mornings, especially on your hosts birthday." They chanted, pointing at a calendar on the wall.

It was true then, they had been unconscious through the night. Nikki fought the urge to panic, she had to be back with Wally in a number of hours before his parents came home! No, that wasn't the main problem here, she told herself, focus Nikki, you've got to get the two of you out of here.

"Father? Please may we learn about our surprise now?" the group asked, looking behind them.

From the shadow, stepped the darkened figure of Father. He held his pipe firmly and narrowed his glowing eyes down on his prisoners.

"I suppose you've waited long enough. Open your present, children." He purred dangerously.

He handed a large box to them, covered in bright green wrapping paper and topped with an over the top blue bow. They clawed greedily at it until there was nothing left but a strange device. It was square in shape, made from wood and had a large lens in the front. Sticking out from its side was a wind-up handle, like the kind you find on jack-in-the-box toys. In fact, if anyone was to look at it, that's what they would think it was. But this was no toy. Nigel felt his jaw drop in shock at the object while Nikki clenched her bound fists, anger pulsating through her.

"You stole that from the KND museum!" she cried, struggling violently.

"That's never supposed to be used, if it gets into the wrong hands -"

"But here's the thing, Numbuh 1," Father interrupted, "It's in the right hands, right here, right now."

"What is it Father?" the Delightful's asked, wide-eyed in wonder.

Nikki shuddered, they really freaked her out when they spoke in unison like that. It wasn't natural, how did Sector V cope with these people?

Father grinned, "The worlds first, and only, portable KND decommissioner. Now, with this little device, we can rid ourselves of the _amazing_ Number 1, and the _famous_ Numbuh 777."

"Thank you so much Father, this is going to be the best birthday ever…" he chanted, smiling manically.

"Why involve Numbuh 777 in this?" demanded Numbuh 1, "You've never even met her!"

He sniggered, "Oh that's where you're wrong… But you see I was thinking, if I rid myself of one Uno in the KND, then why not give myself a double victory and eliminate two? I must say, Nikki, you were quite the discovery…"

Nikki struggled, secretly managing to loosen one of her legs, "So what happens now? You erase you memories, then what?"

"Well, it's not like you'll be a threat anymore, so it'll be so much fun having you as my latest recruits in my teen army…" he snickered.

"But Nigel's not a teenager, you have no need for him, let him go!" she begged, slipping her second leg free, keeping them close to the chair legs to not raise suspicion.

"Well that's where you're wrong. Now, you being the first teenage KND member, it should be easy to imagine this: Nigel Uno, the first ever kid-teen ninja!"

Numbuh 1 struggled, "I wouldn't bet on it!"

Nikki was sure that she heard a metallic click coming from behind her cousin, but she chose not to draw attention to it. She couldn't let this happen, but there was nothing they could do. Father sneered and nodded towards the Delightful's. The grinned and handed him the decommissioner. Father aimed the lens at the pair of prisoners before him, and slowly started to wind the handle. He edged closer, the lens turning an acid green colour that made their eyes burn. He was getting closer, the light getting brighter, he wanted to make sure this went perfectly. Nigel clenched his eyes shut as he struggled, trying to free himself. He was not going to join them, he was not going to forget! Nikki tried to free her arms, but they were bound tightly by the pad-lock. Just when Father was close enough, she forced one of her legs upwards, missing the machine but the toe of her boot colliding with Fathers chin.

He grunted in pain, but Nikki didn't hesitate to lash out again, this time hitting his shin, making him buckle over in pain. Nigel, now dropping the lock that he had been holding, folded over to free his legs and snatched the device away and threw it across the room. It clattered, but didn't break. The Delightful's gasped in horror and rushed to their parents aid. Numbuh 1 ducked behind Nikki and started fiddling the lock, letting it drop to the ground. Nikki jumped to her feet and allowed her cousin to grab her hand and pull her away. They burst through the doors and out into the labyrinth of passageways leading to the rest of the mansion. Nigel picked one at random and dragged Nikki behind him. Soon she managed to catch her breath and run along side him.

"How did you get free? That lock was huge?"

He smirked knowingly and pulled back his sleeve, around his wrist was a rubber band, tucked inside it was her hair-pin from their previous escape plan. She grinned at him in return.

"Maybe it's not just the girls who need these things." He commented, "Now, if I remember correctly, down here!"

He turned a corner and was met with the loud, bellowing cry of anger from Father that he knew only too well. He gulped, this wasn't good. All of a sudden, the corridor stopped, leaving no way out. Nikki gasped and started pounding her fist against the wall, hoping for some sort of secret door or something, it wouldn't be the first time one of those had popped up. But now there was nothing. The cry of anger behind them slowly turned into a menacing cackle of laughter. Nikki and Nigel turned on their heel, a panic setting into the pit of their stomachs. There was no way out as Father and the Delightful's mockingly took their time coming around the corner, eyes narrowing in on them.

They backed away until their backs slammed against the cold, steel wall. Nikki swallowed hard and tried to control her breathing, she could feel Nigel shaking next to her. Her eyes darted around, there had to be a way out of here. Father and the Delightful's were coming closer, a crazed look in their eyes. This was it, this was the end.

"Nikki, I'm sorry."

She looked down at him, "Don't you dare apologise, you did what you thought was right, like a true leader. And I've never been prouder."

Behind his shades, he was looking at her with admiration. Nikki looked to the ceiling, wanting to see the large open space before she was put in darkness of lost memory forever. Then, something caught her eye. A small skylight, a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. She looked at the decommissioner in Fathers' hands, aimed right at them. He started turning the handle. She had to think fast.

"Nigel, do you remember when you were younger and whenever I came over we'd watch 'Wizard of Oz'?"

His jaw dropped, what was she talking about? He hated that film and now was clearly not the time for flashbacks! She's lost it, that was the only explanation.

"And you used to love the ending and look at the ceiling," she clenched his hand in hers, "and click your heels together…"

His eyes widened as he glanced upwards and saw the window, he grinned and gripped her fingers tightly, clicking his heels and activating his rocket shoes. There was a split second as the green light erupted from the machine, a beam shooting out at them. Numbuh 1 was blasted into the air, his hands locked into Nikki's, lifting her with him. The beam just missed them by inched. As the rockets in his shoes forced them upwards, Nikki managed to lock her heels together just at the right moment, snatching the decommissioner out of Fathers grip. He growled and snatched his arms, almost pitifully.

Nikki laughed as her body hung in mid-air, her cousin directing them through the sky-light. The cold air was the most welcoming experience she had ever dreamed of. She looked up at Numbuh 1, who was lifting his head to take in the air. They both looked down at the mansion, shrinking in the distance. An explosion of flames of anger burst through the sky-light, a bellowing scream of vengeance ringing in the air.

"I'll get you for this Uno's!"

"Yeah right old man…" Nikki muttered.

"Adults…" Numbuh 1 scoffed, shaking his head.

Suddenly, they began to jolt in the air. Spinning widely out of control, Numbuh 1 looked down at his shoes, the rockets starting to cough out chunks of black smoke. They were not used to the weight of an extra person and were going haywire. Numbuh 1 gritted his teeth and tried to lower themselves closer to the ground as carefully as he could. Within seconds, the rockets gave out all together. Nikki found herself gripping onto Numbuh 1 tighter as her stomach started flipping inside of her, the ground coming closer and closer.

Their eyes clenched shut as they held onto each other. However, as they felt themselves hit the ground, it was not the painful, fatal experience they had expected, not to mention it had come a lot sooner than they thought. They peeked an eye open and looked around at the oddly familiar setting. A series of grinning faces looking down around them… No, it couldn't be…

But it was…


	7. Chapter 7: Surprise

"Maybe you should leave the flying to me, eh Numbuh 1?"

Numbuh 1 looked up at the chubby boy with flying goggles on his head with a baffled expression. Beneath the two cousins was a large, soft inflatable mattress covered in pillows and sheets. So that's what broke the fall, Nikki thought. Suddenly, she felt something collide harshly with her shoulder as something clamp onto her ar. She looked down at the dark haired girl who appeared to be drowning in an oversized green jumper.

"Don't you scare me like that!" she moaned, giggling.

"Yeah!" snapped the shortest of the group, "I've had to put up with all this soppy crud since we left!"

Nikki laughed with relief and returned the hug. A girl wearing a bright red cap came over and helped Numbuh 1 to his feet. She backed away from him and looked and him, folding her arms and nodding.

"Not bad, Numbuh 5 has to admit she's impressed, but," she punched him on the arm, "did you have to make a big show of it?"

Numbuh 1 grinned at his team, looking around and finding him inside the hover craft that he had left them in. Nikki scrambled to her feet, still having Numbuh 3 clinging to her arm. She felt proud of her cousin, he had clearly done a good job leading his team. She had never been a strong leader herself, forced into the position merely because of her being the first. She was not like him; he was born to do this. He was going to be a brilliant TND in the future, all five of them were, she knew it.

The craft turned in the air and headed back towards the base.

"How did you know where we were?" Nikki asked.

"Well, we didn't, we were about to break into the mansion ourselves to find you, but that's when we saw you're dive bomb in the air." Explained Numbuh 2, demonstrating the fail at flight with his hands.

"You were going to break in _alone_?" Numbuh 1 blanched, "You didn't call for reinforcements?"

"We did tell HQ what was going on, but waiting was so boring!" moaned Numbuh 3.

"Wonder where they got _that_ from…" Nikki muttered, to which Numbuh 4 sniggered, but then composed himself back into his sulking pout.

The ship landed carefully inside the tree-house landing bay and they all piled out and into the main sitting area. Nikki felt more than happy to collapse on the sofa and sleep, but considering her company, she settled for just collapsing instead. There was an incoming transmission from the Moon Base HQ warning flashing on screen. Numbuh 1 pushed his shades back into place and braced himself.

"Numbuh 1 here."

The blonde girl from the last message pixelated into view. Numbuh 362 glared down at him.

"Numbuh 1, do you know how stupid that stunt you pulled was?"

She was off, waving her arms and shouting about how his recklessness and lack of thinking would soon get the whole KND in danger. Nikki glanced at her watch, she'd been ranting now for at least fifteen minutes and didn't look like she was showing any signs of stopping. By this point, she had finished moaning at Nigel, and was now moving onto the rest of the team. She explained how she couldn't believe they had gone back without a substitute leader or without consulting HQ first, blaming it on poor leadership skills. But now, she was focusing on Nikki.

"And you Numbuh 777, you of all should have known better!" she finished, gasping for air, her cheeks red with anger.

Everyone was silent. Suddenly, Nikki got to her feet and smiled up at the screen.

"Numbuh 362, Rachel was it?" she smiled, "You can't blame Sector V, it was my fault. I -"

"Before you start with the attempt at being noble, Numbuh 777, allow me to finish." Nikki was sure that they had all given the girl plenty of time to finish, but she nodded and let the girl continue, "Yes, all of you displayed some appalling sense of thought and planning, not to mention reckless behaviour and refusal to follow regulation, you still achieved mission objective. So… good job, Numbuh 1."

The screen went black. Everyone was baffled and exasperated at the same time. Nikki smirked as she saw her cousin blush slightly.

"I think she likes you, you know?"

He jarred at her words, "Pfft! Yeah right! Really?"

She laughed and winked at him.

"So, I'm confused, did we do a good job or not? I don't understand that cruddy chick!" Numbuh 4 cried.

"We did good, silly!" Numbuh 3 grinned, forcing him into a one-sided hug.

He tried to break free, "I don't understand _any_ cruddy chick!"

"Yeah… get used to that." Nikki smirked, "We don't get any easier."

Numbuh 5 smiled and nodded, not noticing the blush that has hidden beneath part of Numbuh 2's helmet. Numbuh 4 demanded to know how the cousins managed to escape in the first place and what had happened. Nikki sighed and looked at Numbuh 1 hopefully, he shrugged and took it upon himself to explain. He told them about the decommissioner and his plan to rid himself of KND agents, making them into early members of his teen army. They were disgusted.

"Should we inform HQ about that?" asked Numbuh 2, anxiously/

"I will, when Rachel has a chance to calm down first." Nikki offered.

"So… where's the decommissioner now?" asked Numbuh 3, looking inside the sleeves of her jumper.

Numbuh 1 froze, his eyes widened behind his shades towards Nikki. She swallowed hard, she must have dropped it when they had been falling. If that got into the wrong hands again, they may not be so lucky next time. Numbuh 1 jumped to the main computer and started tapping buttons violently in specific orders. A map jumped on screen, a radar signal scanning the area.

"This should locate any 2X4 technology in the area that hasn't been registered by a KND Sector. If there's any stray equipment out there, like the decommissioner, it'll show up sooner or later." Nigel explained.

"So now we're just _waiting_?" snapped Wally, throwing his arms in the air.

"Not much else we can do, Numbuh 5 is guessing…" she shrugged.

Nikki felt deflated, it was her fault, she should have made sure she was holding it tighter. She caught her cousins eye and he firmly shook his head at her disappointed expression, giving her a '_don't even think about it_' kind of look. She forced a smile and nodded.

All of a sudden, the bag that Nikki was leaning against, the she recognised as her own, started vibrating, a dim light pushing through the fabric. She fished out her phone and felt her throat dry at the sight of the 8 missed calls and current incoming call from none other than a certain mother. She shushed the group and pressed the connect button, putting on her most calm babysitting voice that she could manage.

"Hello, Mrs. Beetles!... I know, I'm so sorry, we were outside and I guess I lost track of my phone…. Yeah, everything's fine, we've been having lots of fun…" Nikki rolled her eyes at the sight of Wally smacking his palm to his forehead, "What's that?... Oh, right okay no problem. See you soon… Bye!"

Her smile faded and her voice suddenly dropped back to its serious tone. She scrambled around, grabbing her stuff and shoving it into her bag, leaving the load of fake spy equipment behind. She jumped over the sofa and grabbed Numbuh 4 by the hood of his jumper, dragging him out the door.

"Your parents are coming home early, we've got to get home now!" she explained, turning to face the others, "I'll see you guys later and thank you for everything!"

She was aware that her goodbye or her gratitude was nearly satisfactory enough, but after this, she would be free to do it properly, after all, she was visiting for a good week or two. The babysitter and the grumbling boy raced out of the tree house and rushed down the street until they arrived at the back door of the Beetles residence. Wally clicked on the TV and the two just managed to throw themselves down on the sofa, getting into a position that gave the illusion that they had been there for hours, just as the front door opened.

Two adults traced into the room, looking down at the pair, smiling. Nikki got to her feet and tried to cover her lack of breathing by smiling and shaking the parents hand. Wally arched his brow, pretending not to notice his parents return.

""I hope everything was okay? He didn't give you any trouble did he, it wouldn't be the first time…" his mother warned.

Numbuh 4 rolled his eyes, Nikki answered with a laughter in her tone, "No he's been a big help actually."

"He hasn't been stuck in front of that TV, has he?" joked the father, winking at his irritated son.

She shook her head, "In fact we've only just turned it on."

They nodded with approval. Even Wally had to admit, she was cool under pressure, and true to her world, lying wasn't her thing. He would have to figure out how she did that, telling the total truth and yet not giving away a single thing.

"So where are you staying now until you surprise your aunt and uncle?" they asked, handing over her babysitting money.

She shrugged, "I've got some errands to run, so by the time they're done it'll be the perfect time to surprise them. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Thanks for taking care of you little scamp!" Mr. Beetles grinned, tousling his sons hair, "Wallabee, are you going to say goodbye to Nikki?"

Wally glanced up at the teenager and nodded, "See ya."

"Yeah, see ya." Nikki grinned.

Nikki was walked out of the house and began to make her way down the street, when she noticed something rustling in the bushes. She peered in and braced herself, unsure of the noise being a threat or not.

"Errands, huh?" Numbuh 4 tumbled from the shrub, eyeing her warily, "Like what?"

He still didn't trust her, she thought, "Just something I've got to do, that's all."

"At the tree-house? At the Delightful Dorks?"

She shook her head, "No, why? You worried about me?" she smirked playfully.

He scoffed, "Yeah right! Now… go on get outta here!"

She grinned and tousled his hair, "I'll see you around."

And with that, she was gone. Vanished around the street corner, leaving him alone. He huffed and mumbled something about 'cruddy teenagers' and returned home before his parents noticed his trip to the 'bathroom' taking too long. Nikki however, was heading down every ally-way she could find, searching in every shrub and peering down every drain on the road. She wasn't sure how long it took her, but she eventually found what she was looking for.

Night was closing in and she had to run to find her families house before it got too dark to see. Then again, their house wasn't exactly hard to miss. Not with the giant tree producing from the roof with multiple blocks attached to it, and the giant KND painted on the front. Maybe she should suggest a more subtle touch, but she chose against it. When was this particular team every subtle?

She gripped her bag over her shoulder and strode up the pathway and knocked confidently on the door. The door opened to reveal a large, round man with a balding head, he beamed down on her.

"By Jove! Nikki, I thought you weren't arriving till the morning!" he cried in his over-the-top British accent.

Being British herself, she had to laugh at his old fashioned phrases. No one in Britain really spoke like that, but she presumed that maybe he was putting it on to mess with the Americans heads. Thus, she played along and pretended to ignore it.

"Well I was but I wanted to surprise you. Surprise!" she grinned.

Her uncle and aunt welcomed her with a large meal that she was more than grateful to devour. She realised that she hadn't eaten anything since she had started babysitting Numbuh 4 the afternoon before. They apologised to Nigel not being present, apparently he was having a sleepover in the tree-house, so it would be a nice surprise for him in the morning. She nodded and smiled secretly to herself. They led her upstairs into the guest bedroom and left her to set herself up. However, she only just managed to get her pyjamas on before she collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

The morning sun broke though the gap in her curtains. She blinked her eyes until she was completely awake. There were strange noises coming from downstairs, including a few loud voices that it took her less than seconds to recognise. She hastily threw on some clothes and fashioned her hair into her signature side pony-tail and brushed her teeth. Whatever was going on, she was itching to find out.

She tapped on the closed dining room door and everything suddenly went deadly quiet. A polite cough at her side made her jump. Before her, her aunt and uncle smiled knowingly down at her.

"Nigel found out you were here and wanted to give you a little something. We're going to pop to the shops for a bit, think you'll be okay on your own with him?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine!" she beamed.

They nodded and left, chuckling to themselves. Nikki raised an eyebrow in suspicion. What was going on here? Carefully and slowly, she opened the door to the dining room, edging her way inside. The room was flooded in darkness. A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Her fists raised themselves into fighting stance and her senses were on high alert. All of a sudden, the lights burned on and there was a child-like series of cries around her.

"Surprise!"

Nikki staggered back, taking everything in. The room was filled with streamers and bursting part-poppers. Sat on the table, almost spilling over the edges was the biggest and most delicious looking cake Nikki had ever seen, Gathered around it, was a group of children, lead by her cousin. He folded his arms and smirked at her triumphantly.

"Welcome home." He said, simply.

She grinned and forced him into a hug, which he wasn't sure if he liked or not, so instead he just gingerly tapped her on the back.

"Oh yeah, and we think you're missing something." Numbuh 5 commented, tossing two objects to her.

Nikki caught them and examined them. One was a small pendant with her TND details printed across it. She grinned and put it around her neck, glad to feel the badges familiar weight hanging from her again. The second was red and looked like a boxing glove, with a click of a button, a hockey stick handle shot out from it, a ping-pong paddle and yo-yo attached at the end. Her YO-STICK.

"How did you…?"

She hesitated as she noticed something written on the cake in bright blue icing. '_Happy Birthday Delightful Children_'. She narrowed her eyes, yet couldn't ignore the pride that she felt for them.

"The Delightful's cake?" she asked with awe, eyes widening at their skills, but then she snapped out of it, "You went back into the mansion?" she cried, "You could have been hurt! You -"

"Jeez give it a rest!" Numbuh 4 snapped, rolling his eyes, "We're more than a match for those creeps!"

Got that right, Nikki thought, "But why?"

"It's still your annual mission to steal the cake, so what if we took back a few other stolen things on the way?" Numbuh 2 smirked, mouth watering at the cake.

"You guys are just so…" she couldn't find a word for them, so she said the only thing that made sense to her, and would hopefully make sense to them too, "…so KND."

The grinned a the complement.

"By the way, I've got something for all of you too."

They eyed her questioningly as she vanished back up to her bedroom and pulled out a box from her bag. She rushed back down to them and handed it to her cousin. He prised the lid open and gasped at its contents. He pulled the object out for all to see.

"The decommissioner? How?" Numbuh 2 gaped.

"I found it… and it took a long time too, but it's better off with you guys than in the streets, so it was worth it. Now, are we digging into this cake or not?"

"Cake for breakfast?" Numbuh 3 grinned, jumping on the spot.

"Of course!" Nikki smiled, cutting the first layer of the cake into slices and passing it around.

It was amazing. There were no other ways of describing the cake, but amazing. Clearly, it had been worth it. By the end of their third or fourth piece each, they were ready to throw up, but still couldn't bring themselves to stop.

All of a sudden, the group of children froze as their communicators started flashing. They groaned and started piling out of the room.

"Another cruddy mission? We've just finished one!"

"Numbuh 5 knew this peace was too good to last."

Nikki watched them leaving, smiling as they went. She was going to miss being a KND-TND operative. She was eighteen, in a year and a half, she would be twenty and it was highly doubtful that they were going to allow an adult into the teams. AND didn't really have a ring to it anyway. So she had to make these moments last.

"Hey, Numbuh 777, are you coming or what?"

Nikki looked up to see her cousin leaning against the door frame, arching an eyebrow as he adjusted his shades. Yes, she had to make these moments last. She lifted her hand to her head in a salute and grinned.

"Of course, leader."

She followed him up into the tree-house as they all prepared their weapons and piled into the ship. They blasted off into the open air and locked onto their target. Nikki couldn't escape the smile that had etched herself on her face. She looked down at her badge and then at the team around her. She could tell, they were definitely going to make great TND operatives some day, and if they ever did make an adult sector, if there ever was going to be a AND station…

She was positive that Nigel Uno was going to be the first.

**End Transmission.**


End file.
